Ján Cibuľa (source: Archive of Ján Cibuľa Jr)
He was the first Roma to graduate from medical school in former Czechoslovakia, and a Nobel Peace Prize candidate as one of the 20th century's most important Roma personalities.
Ján Cibuľa was born in the Klenovec Roma settlement and made it to a globally recognised Roma activist and diplomat. President Zuzana Čaputová recently awarded him the Ľudovít Štúr Order 1st class in memoriam as one of the 20 people who received the award in 2020.
"He was an exceptional person. He lived for the Roma, even at the expense of his own family," his sister Želmíra Kňažeková told Sme.
After the 1989 Velvet Revolution she used to visit him in Bern, Switzerland, where he settled and opened a medical office.
His award was accepted by his son David, who came to Bratislava from Switzerland.
